Gandrel
is a fictional character that appears in the Ophidian Universe games and fictions. Created by Ophidian Games, Inc, he first appeared in 2003. Fictional character biography Origins & Timeline 850 Gasherdel, Garina According to Garina Mythology, "Oun Morgash," translated as The First Apocalypse, was stopped by a human male who could control the physics of the universe with his thoughts. He had no origin, no parents, and no history until "Gan-Anmor," The Great Healing in the city of Darish. The population of Gasherdel was falling victim to"Mor-Anvor," The Invisible Death. Anyone who showed a symptom of the illness was immediately exiled, as no one recovered naturally. Then a man stepped forward and said he could cure the sick. He was called "Gandrel," which means The Great Balancer, signifying the turn of events in this time of death vs. life. The sick ones had made a civilization for themselves in the outskirts of the cities, trying to make one another comfortable in their final days. Gandrel went into the wilderness. He was gone for six days. When he returned, nearly half of those that had been exiled from Darish returned, symptom free. Likewise, many who grew sick were sent to Darish, to see Gandrel, and the majority returned home cured. Thousands of people died from "Mor-Anvor," but tens of thousands were healed. Not everyone who was healed returned to normal. Some changed drastically in personality. Many became "evil," showing uncharacteristic, aggressive behavior. Gandrel took it upon himself to bring about the end of a person's life if they showed this behavior. His weapon of choice was a two-bladed ax. It was said it was the only weapon that could kill them. Often times, he would throw the ax, splitting them open from a distance. Near the end of the rain of illness, people followed Gandrel in hopes of learning his powers of healing and/or his abilities of combat. In 862, Gandrel gained an official following of cultists, collectively known as The Gandrels, who taught a number of conflicting messages regarding the staving off of death. Themes included: working with otherworldly spirits, healing from within, or the consumption of certain plants or animal-life. These philosophies broke down into separate sects. These sects had a tendency to war with one another, claiming the other as misrepresenting their leader. Gandrel was not a part of these wars. In 869, the ruler of Gasherdel, Nevi, blamed Gandrel for initiating the string of wars that now spread, not just through Gasherdel, but to the neighboring planets, including the civilized planet Gal-rul, the isolated planet Da-rul, and the triplet planets, Shash-Gulvanis. The slaying of the infected people was now contorted, and it was said Gandrel had killed for sport, and the people had not been sick. Gandrel became the first outlaw in Gasherdel history. He was hunted by various groups, even by some his supporters. Many others continued to support him, but they were also fair game for the hunters. The fate of Gandrel is unconfirmed. He was tracked to a small village, but a thorough search only produced his legendary ax. Different accounts of his life give a different end to his story, sometimes he was killed, sometimes he killed himself, sometimes he turned himself into the ax, living in the inanimate state, but most often he returned to the space of the universe, from where he first came. His mysterious end only heightened the myths around him, and eventually the sects managed to pull themselves together into a more coherent cult. Leaders within it were called Gandrels. Their originator was known as "Oun Gandrel," The First Gandrel, or sometimes simply, "Oun," The First. 999 Gasherdel, Garina Before the start of the second millennium, Harin Nevi came to power. He sought to unify all of the Garina System, and held that he was the rightful ruler, and gave a lineage to prove he was descended from the original Nevi. His first acts of cleansing were to abolish the ancient language in exchange for the common language, to destroy previous myths and histories that went against his teachings, and to abolish cultist groups. The stories, the name, and the followers of Gandrel were wiped from the Garina system. 1580 Gal-rul, Garina At the start of the technological age, a girl was born, and her parents named her Gandrel. There was no reason for the name. They didn't know the ancient language, they didn't know the myths of Gandrel, and they just liked the sound of the name. Gandrel showed early signs of great abilities. She was trained to be a healer by her father, and a peace officer by her mother. As she grew up, Gandrel wanted to join the army. 1600 Gasherdel, Garina Gandrel left Gal-rul for Gasherdel, where the central army of defense for the Garina system was located. This was the start of the technological age, and she was within the first hundred people to travel from one Garina planet to another. She petitioned the current ruler of Gasherdel, Gen Nevi, to be a soldier of defense. He accepted her. Shortly after she joined, there was a great commotion as The Warm Planet, Da-rul (formally known as the isolated planet), spontaneously exploded. Immediately a plague swept Gal-rul. Scientists named this "Moradven-tus," The Death From the Inside-Out in the ancient language. Gen Nevi, who would take responsibility for not protecting the people of his system, immediately looked to the past for an answer. The past had been buried, and excavators found little of old. One laborer came across an ax with writings in the ancient language. He recognized one word, Gandrel, which was the name of the soldier he was in love with. In an attempt to win her affection, he stole the ax from the site and gave it to her. Gandrel thought it a sign, and immediately began an attempt to learn the ancient language, to read the ax, and hopefully find a cure before the "Moradven-tus" reached her family. Eventually she determined the ax contained a foretelling of a future event, "Do Morgash," The Second Apocalypse. Gandrel, the author of the writing on the ax, pledged to return at this time and save the people. Gandrel returned home. She learned there were several stages to the illness sweeping the planet. There was the early, pained state, and this was the only time people could be cured. They were highly contagious, though Gandrel seemed immune to it. She called for strict quarantine of the sick, and was able to heal nearly everyone she saw in this first stage of the illness. The second stage was death, with no vital signs and no movement. This was the safest of the stages, as the threat of spreading the illness was minimal, and as the people were thought to be dead, they were usually buried or cremated, ending the threat. The third stage was by far the most dangerous. Gandrel called these people "Anmor," The Un-dead. The person was not who they used to be, and now made a conscious attempt to spread the illness. They were difficult to kill, and Gandrel found she was one of the few people who could stop them. Eventually, the threat seemed to be over. 1612 Gasherdel, Garina The year of 1612 started with the celebration of the illness-free population of the Garina system. Gandrel was heralded as the main person responsible for this cleansing, and groups formed to follow her and learn from her. She was given her own station to operate from, often considered her temple. She was given her own branch of the army to lead, specifically related to foreign invaders. She was considered ahead of her time in the feminist movement, and there after, the Garina system's head soldiers were always women. She was a popular subject for poets and artists. The most famous painting of Gandrel showed her with ax in hand, tackling half a dozen infected "Anmores." After the myth of the original Gandrel was wide spread, she became known as "Do Gandrel," or sometimes just "Do," The Second. 1619 '''Gasherdel, Garina One of Gen Nevi's sons, Krevic, fell ill, seemingly from the "Moradven-tus." Gandrel was called to the Nevi home to cure the child. Gandrel could not identify the illness, and could not heal him. At last, Krevic died. Gen Nevi blamed Gandrel for his death, and publicly stated that she was a phony. Gen Nevi, very persuasive with his accusations, turned the soldiers, who had served under Gandrel, against her. She eluded capture for months, until her ax was discovered in a hidden room in her temple. Believing she was hiding inside, the temple was destroyed, after all art and literature about her was placed into it. The name Gandrel was tainted, and came to mean someone who endangered others for self glory. '''1999 '''Gasherdel, Garina Ruler Ghonthan Nevi ushered in the Age of the Remarkable at the start of the third millennium. Technological advancements increased exponentially, drawing attention to the Garina system, and attracting foreigners to move there. The new influx of people caused shortage of space, and quickly the majority of land was bought and built upon. History began anew, and all past myths were buried deeper than before. "Garina must look forward, not backwards," was the motto of Ghonthan Nevi's new world. The name Gandrel had become forgotten again. '''2199 '''Gasherdel, Garina Leangar Nevi inherited the title of ruler at the passing of his father. Leangar was a long time student of past civilizations of other systems. He had long since wanted to explore the past of Garina, especially his home world, but his father had been strict about, "Garina must look forward, not backwards." Now that he was in charge, he hired a team to perform archeological digs, underneath the buildings. Mark Deago, longtime friend of Leangar, was put in charge of the project. Within the early months of the project, a temple was discovered. Piecing together the importance of it was difficult, but based on the paintings, the writings, the statues, the weapons, and the altar, it appeared that this was dedicated to a goddess of war. More remarkabley, the woman in the paintings strongly resembled Leangar's daughter, Heiress Tya. After studying the inscription on the ax, Mark Deago determined that it was indeed a goddess, who comes at the beginning of every apocalypse to save the people. Because of her similar appearance, and her strengths in mysticism and war, it was believed that Tya Nevi, sole heiress to rule Garina, was the reincarnation of the goddess Gandrel. Leangar bestowed the ax upon her and began her training, so that she could save them if "Tra Morgash," The Third Apocalypse should strike. '''2200 Gasherdel, Garina Gandrel, as she was called now, was a fast learner and a restless spirit. The concept of gladiator fighting was renewed in popularity, thanks to a recent ruling by the Ophidians. Gandrel asked her father to start a gladiator tournament in the Garina System. Gandrel, with ax always in hand, was leagues above the other fighters. The system could not hold her. She set off to Sept Bracius, proved herself in the tryouts, and was allowed to compete. As she was the first from outside the Bracius systems, she was given a special rank, the first to hold a 0 V.P. rank. Gandrel proved herself to be one of the all-times greats in the Ophidian league. Having married one of the Dark Mystics of Dethos, she was given the gift of life-long youth. She still holds the record for most years in the league, competing until the year 2338. Though she took off a few years when her son was born, and had two come-backs after retiring, she still put in over one hundred years. '''2338 '''Gasherdel, Garina At the start of the third millennium, the triplet planets Shash-Gulvanis had been reexamined. Two were confirmed to be planets, Krevic and Veler, named for the two sons of Gen Nevi. They orbited around an invisible axis point. It seemed each imposed the same gravity upon the other, so that neither would revolve around the other. The third planet, Gen, was determined to be a moon. It orbited around both planets in a figure-eight movement. Shash-Gulvanis was thereafter called the twin planets. In 2338, without warning, the moon Gen exploded. When it blew, it was on the far side of Krevic. The Ophidians took it upon themselves to handle the situation. The Seventh Vanguard was deployed to the Garina system, and put strict control over who and what exited and entered. Hearing the news of her home world, Gandrel felt compelled to leave Ophidian, for the third and final time, and return home to lead and protect her people. In the meantime, her son, "Fet Gandrel" Nevi, The Young Gandrel, was ruling in her place. At the time of her retirement, Gandrel was a 3 V.P. Gladiator. Though she retired, she did not retire her legendary ax. She instead turned it over to the Ophidians, for use in future matches. Gandrel's first point of action was to lead a "clean up" crew to Krevic. There they found a deadly infestation that they were not expecting. Unlike the name sakes before her, the fate of Gandrel was known. Infected with alien spores, her body had to be burnt, seemingly alive, on Krevic, and her remains could not be sent home, as per the Seventh Vanguard. '''2350 '''Gasherdel, Garina While scientists like Dr. Kopeland investigate the krevlocs on Krevic, and the people of Gal-rul struggle to survive, the people of Gasherdel worriedly await their future. It is majority consensus that they are in the midst of "Tra Morgash," The Third Apocalypse. There are many who believe in the ancient myth, that Gandrel will save the people, but there is no consensus on who Gandrel is. "Fet Gandrel" Nevi, who is no longer young, despite his name, is a possibility. His youngest daughter, "Tra Gandrel" Nevi, The Third Gandrel, is a likely candidate, as she is equal to her grandmother in beauty and spirit and ability. There are seven other people on Gasherdel named Gandrel, named after the gladiator, and others throughout the various systems, any one of which could potentially be the embodiment. Then there are those that believe Gandrel was THE Gandrel, but was foolish, lost the battle she was foretold to win, and has sealed a gloomy fate for her people. Regardless of who the reincarnation is, there is general agreement that the ax is the key to fighting off the evil. People have sent petitions to the Ophidians to return Gandrel's Ax to the Garina system, but the Ophidians have yet to acknowledge the request. Miscellaneous Matches *Gandrel’s Final Match Category:Characters Category:Gladiators Category:Legendary Gladiators